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Way Back Machine

Stories about the way things were on the Delmarva Peninsula–the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and Delaware.

Ordinary Heroes of Old Delmarva
From Grief to Grace: A Marydel Whodunnit (a free “Ordinary Heroes” book excerpt) From the BooksWay Back Machine

From Grief to Grace: A Marydel Whodunnit (a free “Ordinary Heroes” book excerpt)

This story is free excerpt from my book, Ordinary Heroes of Old Delmarva: Inspiring True Tales of Courage, Kindness, and Community. More info about the book here. The chapter, "From Grief to Grace: A Marydel Whodunnit," exemplifies the virtue of forgiveness. Lots of other stories about lots of other virtues are in the book. Here goes: Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face…
January 3, 2026
Epizootic Sickly Horses FEATURED PHOTO
All the Sickly Horses: The Epizootic of 1872 Was One Crazy Turn of Events Way Back Machine

All the Sickly Horses: The Epizootic of 1872 Was One Crazy Turn of Events

Imagine you get up tomorrow morning, and your car doesn’t start. Oddly, your neighbor's car won’t start either. Weird! None of the cars on your block start. None of the cars in your whole town start. Crazy! Buses, trucks, delivery vans—all out of commission. I know what you’re thinking: “Come on, that could never happen.” But it did. Well, kind of. Here’s a lighthearted couplet…
January 3, 2026
Christmas Shopping in Oxford 1756 Featured Photo SIZED
If You Went Christmas Shopping in Colonial Times … Oxford, Md. in 1756 Way Back Machine

If You Went Christmas Shopping in Colonial Times … Oxford, Md. in 1756

If you wanted to go Christmas shopping on Maryland's Eastern Shore back in 1756, you would have headed if at all possible to Oxford, Md. For variety and quantity of merchandise, that then-bustling Tred Avon River port in Talbot County had no equal on the shore. Not even Chestertown compared at that point. What might be on your list? Are you thinking your list would…
December 2, 2025
Christmas Poem McKinsey 1919 Featured Photo SIZED
A Poetic Christmas Interlude, 1919 Quote of the DayWay Back Machine

A Poetic Christmas Interlude, 1919

The poet Folger McKinsey was born in Elkton, Md. in 1866 and got his start as a journalist and writer in the Eastern's Shore's Cecil County. Later, he became a newspaperman for the Baltimore Sun. There, he eventually became "staff poet"--yup, the Sun did have have such a position. At Christmastime in 1919, McKinsey published a poem titled “The Hills of Pine.” Most of it…
December 1, 2025
Hoopers Island Christmas 1920 FEATURED Image SIZED
WAY BACK MACHINE: A Hoopers Island Christmas in the 1920s CharactersQuote of the DayWay Back Machine

WAY BACK MACHINE: A Hoopers Island Christmas in the 1920s

The late Tom Flowers, who grew up on Hoopers Island during the 1920s and 1930s, ranks as a legendary figure in Dorchester County, Md. One of the many hats he wore in life was that of storyteller--he would make the rounds of local civic groups and events, sharing tales from days gone by. He collected some of his stories into a book, "Shore Folklore." Here…
December 1, 2025
Bethlehem Maryland Postmark FEATURED Image Sized
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem (in Caroline County) Way Back Machine

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem (in Caroline County)

Have you been to our little town of Bethlehem? It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it affair in Caroline County, Md., just east of the Choptank River along Dover Bridge Road. For some folks, it's a Delmarva pilgrimage site come Christmastime. They want to send out holiday cards bearing that "Bethlehem" postmark. The tradition dates back nearly a century--to the late 1930s, when a 16-year-old girl named Marjorie Ann Chambers…
November 30, 2025
Sunset atBlackwater 2013 Featured Image
From the Books: Charlestown’s Innocent Stream with a Deadly Name From the BooksWay Back Machine

From the Books: Charlestown’s Innocent Stream with a Deadly Name

In the book You Wouldn't Believe! storyteller Jim Duffy serves up 44 Strange and Wondrous Delmarva Tales that run the gamut from true crime to romance and adventure and comedy. Every story is true. Every chapter is a story unto itself, perfect for relaxed flipping and browsing. Here is one of the true-crime chapters: The last time I was in Charlestown, on Maryland’s Upper Eastern…
November 17, 2025
Samuel Burris FEATURED PHOTO
Saved from the Auction Block: Underground Railroad Hero Samuel Burris CharactersWay Back Machine

Saved from the Auction Block: Underground Railroad Hero Samuel Burris

The story below is a draft that has not yet been published in a Secrets of the Eastern Shore book. If you are interested in the inspiring true-life stories of the heroes of Underground Railroad times on Delmarva, the book to get is Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva.  OK, Here is that story about Delaware's Samuel Burris: There’s something wrong in the…
October 29, 2025
Foxxy Terrier from book You Wouldn't Believe FEATURED PHOTO
From the Books: The Foxxy Terrier Who Found Itself From the BooksWay Back Machine

From the Books: The Foxxy Terrier Who Found Itself

In the book You Wouldn't Believe! storyteller Jim Duffy serves up 44 Strange and Wondrous Delmarva Tales that run the gamut from true crime to romance and adventure and comedy. Every story is true. Every chapter is a story unto itself, perfect for relaxed flipping and browsing. This free excerpt is the shortest chapter in the book--and one of the cutest, in my humble opinion.…
October 29, 2025
Salisbury Fire 1886 Featured Photo
The Great Salisbury Fire of 1886 Never Should Have Gotten Out of Hand Way Back Machine

The Great Salisbury Fire of 1886 Never Should Have Gotten Out of Hand

The key moment in the 1886 fire that destroyed downtown Salisbury came seven years before the first spark. In 1879 a waterfront business called Jackson’s Mill caught fire—and that blaze looked at first to be a dicey situation. Salisbury didn’t have a “modern” fire department (in the late 1800s sense of that term) at this point, so an old-fashioned bucket brigade went to work. Meanwhile,…
October 6, 2025